Egyptian Dirt For Sale

Last month my husband and I went to Egypt. The stars were aligned and we were able to pull it off - with the help of 2 au pairs and 1 great friend holding down the fort with our 3 children and another au pair serving as travel consultant, we were able to do the trip for a minimal expense. It is a place that my husband has wanted to go forever - and I was up for the adventure (Rome is my forever trip).

Whenever anyone asks me, "how was the trip", my response is the same: unreal. It is very hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that I can personally touch something that has been around over 5,000 years. There are almost no barriers to the artifacts and ruins - which made me skeptical about the authenticity. The are also so many statues and other artifacts that I started to feel like I was on a Hollywood set. I am not an archaeologist, so I can't vouch for authenticity, but I couldn't help but feel "hmmm, who's to say that someone didn't just make that statue?..."

The tie in to business: product perception. Think about it: you don't doubt the value of the artwork in the Louvre because you are not allowed to come near anything. That distance almost makes you want it more, and you can figure why people are willing to pay more. In comparison, in Egypt we were picking up rocks and other things from burial sites and temples that (as far as we can tell) could have fallen directly off of Hatshepsut's temple. Timewise, the Egyptian dirt would be worth more than any artwork hanging in the Louvre - but I am sure that no one will pay us money for it. The same with our Val-ID-ate product. We have to present it as the exclusive product that it is. We have a unique tool, and we don't expound on that fact enough. We need to convey just how utilizing our tool makes someone unique - and invaluable. Worth money.

For so long we have undervalued our products, and it is very hard to change pricing to better reflect worth. A basic business principle is that you can always lower a price, but raising a price is difficult. Well, SETTING a price is IMPOSSIBLE! But, I guess we learn from trial and error, or just plain pain.

We are striving to hang (figuratively) in the Louvre - Paris is my second "forever" trip